Find My Baby (23 page)

He went to the table, and in seconds was working the keys.

“Can the authorities check them out?” Odell asked with his head bent over the computer. “Surely the cops in Connecticut will help.”

“Good question, but a man with that much money would know in less than five minutes if someone was digging into his past.”

“I just thought of something,” Odell said, turning away from the computer for a moment. “Small town papers have local info on their big-name citizens.”

“Good idea,” Luke said.

He paced the small room as Odell worked.

Luke had to check these people out. As far as he could see, there was only one way to do it.

“Pacing back and forth is distracting.”

“Sorry.” But Luke couldn’t sit still. The information Odell uncovered could make all the difference.

“Find anything?” he asked when he couldn’t stand it another minute.

“Maybe. Yes! It says here that William Sinclair and his wife held a small reception in honor of their grandson, William David Sinclair IV, who will be living with them since the death of his parents.”

“The date…give me the date.”

Odell bent over the computer, glanced up. “The paper was printed yesterday. The reception was the day before.”

“The time-line fits. What about a picture of the baby?”

Odell looked again. Shook his head. “If David’s parents have Kayla’s son, would they hire someone to kill her?” he asked, his eyes round and questioning.

“At this point I’m just guessing,” Luke said. “Or maybe I’m hoping against hope we’re finally on the right track. Who knows? Anyway, I’m going to run this by Kayla. I know what we have to do. I just hope she’ll go along with it.”

Kayla read the pages Luke handed her. “I don’t know, Luke. The name gives me pause, but David told me his parents were dead. These Sinclairs are very much alive.”

“You have to admit it’s suspicious. I’ve said all along it would take someone with big money to pull this off. We have to check them out.”

“What if they have nothing to do with David?”

He looked at her, at the hope growing in her eyes, and knew she was trying not to get too excited. She’d been disappointed once, so he didn’t blame her for being cautious.

“Only one way to find out.”

“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

“We’re flying to Connecticut.”

Her breath caught in her throat. William David Sinclair II. Could it be? Had David lied to her?

Her heart hammered crazily. “How soon can we leave?”

“As soon as I can get us on a plane.”

“It’s pretty far-fetched. There are probably dozens, maybe hundreds of Sinclairs across the country,” she said, trying to tamp down the leap of hope that consumed her. Trying not to get too excited.

“I don’t believe in coincidence. Neither do you. The name in itself made me suspicious. But the baby?”

“Can someone there check on them before we arrive?”

“Too risky. If I call the State Police in Connecticut, and they inform the Sinclairs, they could disappear with the baby. You’d never get the chance to see the infant they call their grandson.”

As she headed to her room, Luke said, “I’ll have Odell book us on the first flight out.”

He followed her to the door of her room where she sat on the edge of the bed, a hand over her heart. “Dear God, let him be there,” she prayed. “Please let Sam be alive and well. Please help us find him.”

****

Several hours later, Luke swung their duffels into the overhead rack of the plane then took a seat next to Kayla. She’d been a bundle of nerves from the minute he gave her the information on the Sinclairs. As she stared out the window, he wondered if she saw the dampness of this very cold December day, the men scurrying to secure the luggage. He doubted it. Her thoughts were centered on Sam.

Luke didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed as they were before, but how else could she check that baby? True, he could go alone and quietly check out the Sinclairs. But despite the sketch, there was no way he could positively identify Sam.

Only Kayla could do that.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded. “If they are David’s parents, why would they want to kill me?”

He took her hand. It was ice cold. “I don’t have an answer, Kayla. If they are David’s parents, you can ask them that question yourself.”

She turned to him, her eyes deep blue pools of hurt. “I’m sitting here hoping they are David’s parents. That Sam is being loved by them—that he’s safe.” She gave a little hiccup. “Does it sound weird to be glad if David lied to me?”

He put his arm around her, pulled her as close as the seat allowed. “No. It doesn’t sound weird at all. You sound like a mother.”

She gave him a watery smile. “I am a mother, aren’t I? It’s just that ever since Sam was born I haven’t felt like one. I wasn’t able to protect him­­—wasn’t allowed to be with him.” She took a deep breath. “No. I haven’t felt like a mother at all.”

“But you’ve done everything in your power to find him. No one but a mother would do that,” he whispered. Not all mothers, he reminded himself. Certainly not his.

The plane took off, lifted into the sky.

“How long?” she asked.

Luke looked at his watch. “We’re going straight through to La Guardia so we should be there in a little over three hours. Why don’t you try to sleep?”

“I’ll sleep when I get Sam back.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high, Kayla. This could turn out like the episode in Houston.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m praying otherwise.”

“So am I.”

He took her hand. Her fingers tightened around his.

For the next three hours, they stayed that way.

After they landed, he rented a car and headed for Connecticut.

“What’s the plan?” Kayla asked.

“First stop, the library. If we can’t get the information we need there, we’ll go to the local paper.”

But he’d rather not. The library was safer. It was impersonal, and he could access information without talking to someone who might get word back to the Sinclairs.

Kayla was as silent on the ride to Connecticut as she had been on the plane. He was worried about her. If this lead fizzled, he had no idea where else to look. And he doubted the FBI did. If her in-laws were behind this, they’d wiped their tracks clean. If they had Sam, he could see why they would want Kayla dead. She was the only person in the world who would bother to look for the child, the only one who could identify him. With her out of the way, their path was clear. They could raise their grandson and no one would ever question them. Not even the child.

Two hours later, the library was about to close when Luke decided he had enough information. But it was too late to do anything tonight. They’d start out early tomorrow.

“Sam could be right here and you want to wait until tomorrow?” Kayla cried. “I’ve been waiting since the night he was born.”

“We couldn’t find a single picture of the Sinclair son or grandson. We’re going to have to approach them in a way I hadn’t planned.”

“What had you planned?” she asked when he drove into the parking lot of a mid-priced hotel.

“To tell you the truth, I’d hoped to find a picture of their son and see if he was your David. If so, I’d call the FBI and let them take over. That’s out now.”

“David told me he graduated from a small high school in New York. Maybe we can check the yearbook.”

“It wouldn’t help. We have to tie your David with these Sinclairs.”

“I see,” she said. “So now what?”

“Tomorrow,” Luke said. “Now, you’re going to eat a decent meal and get some rest. The Sinclairs have no idea we’re checking on them. If they have Sam, he’ll still be there in the morning.”

He helped her out of the car. Her body trembled. Not from the cold he guessed, but stress. When was the last time she’d eaten? Not on the plane. He couldn’t remember her last meal and he’d been with her for most of the last twenty-four hours.

After checking in as quickly as possible, he left their duffels at the desk and went directly to the hotel restaurant.

“How can you think about food?” she asked.

He sat her in a chair, took the one facing her. “Kayla. I want you to eat.” When she turned away, he took her chin, turned her head so she had to look at him. “I’m serious. If you get sick on me, I won’t be able to pursue this any further. I’ll have to give it up.”

“Why?” she asked

“Because you’re the only person in the world who can identify Sam.”

She took a shaky breath. “I am, aren’t I?”

“You are. And if you get sick because you’re too stubborn to eat, then we’ll go back to Houston and forget the Sinclairs. You can pray that the FBI finds Sam. If they don’t, you can start your life over without him.” He hated the hardness in his voice but, difficult or not, it was time for Kayla to face the truth.

Her eyes blazed like blue fire. Good. He wanted her angry.

She ordered a bowl of soup and a grilled chicken sandwich.

He watched carefully as she ate every bite of the soup and half the sandwich. It was better than he expected. But then she was probably hungrier than she thought.

When they were finished, he ordered a cup of coffee for himself, a cup of tea for her.

Kayla seemed a little more relaxed. And when he took her hand or brushed against her arm, she wasn’t as shaky as she had been. But every touch set him on fire.

For a while they sat there in comfortable silence.

“Sam’s close, Luke. I feel it.”

“I hope you’re right.” He wanted her to be right. Without a picture of David for Kayla to identify, Luke wasn’t sure of anything.

His gaze swept over her. She looked small sitting there in her jeans, T-shirt and Nikes. But she was far from helpless. She was the strongest woman he’d ever met. And the most stubborn.

He wanted her desperately. Every time she looked at him, his heart swelled. Every time he touched her he felt that lightning jolt of awareness.

Did she feel it? The night they’d been at Nester’s they’d come close to making love. Kayla had responded to him then in a way that stirred his soul.

He let out a silent breath. If only she wasn’t grieving for Sam.

But if she’d never come to her aunt’s, Luke would never have met her.

He had to end this nightmare for her. For them.

For a moment he let his thoughts drift. He could see Kayla in his home with the baby. There was that small room off the master that could be turned into a nursery. He could see her smile as she picked up Sam to feed him. He could see her in his bed.

Bringing himself back to reality, he looked around the restaurant. They’d tried to add a little light to the dark room by putting a bud vase with a tired carnation on every table. It would take a lot more than that small attempt to create a romantic atmosphere. The whole place had an antiseptic look about it. But what the hell! They would only be here long enough to get a few hours of sleep.

When he’d checked in, he’d wanted to get one room. One bed. He’d settled for a suite. They picked up their duffels and headed there. Kayla was dead on her feet.

He opened the door, threw the bags on the table. “Get ready for bed,” he told her. “You’re exhausted.”

She nodded, grabbed her bag and disappeared in the bathroom.

Luke took out the sheaf of papers Odell had run off and looked up the address for the Sinclairs. He wrote the information down on the pad provided by the hotel and stuck it in his billfold before he put the papers back in his bag.

An hour later, Kayla came out of the bathroom wearing the sweats he’d seen so often since they’d met. “You look better.”

“I feel better.”

“Pick a room,” he said as he took his turn in the bathroom.

When he came out, she was sprawled across the bed. She hadn’t bothered to get under the covers. Even with the heat in the room, it was cold, colder than it had been in Houston. “She’s worn out,” he said to himself as he gently covered her.

He watched her. Even in her sleep she moved around a lot, moaning as if in pain. This was no way to get the rest she needed.

Seeing her lying there sparked a ripple of awareness so intense, he dropped to his knees beside the bed. He wanted her with an intensity that staggered him. It was an ache that started in his heart region and zapped lower.

She cried out. How could he help her? How could he remove the pain? When she cried out again, he said, “To hell with it.” And crawled into bed beside her.

He was aware of every inch of her, every curve. The night was going to be long and painful. He pulled her close.

She stilled and went quiet immediately.

“Sleep, my love,” he whispered against her hair. “Tomorrow we’ll know the truth. Whatever it is.”

Chapter Twenty

Kayla awoke with Luke’s arms pinning her to the bed. She didn’t dare move. For a swift moment she lay there enjoying the feel of every hard inch of him: the muscles in his arms and legs; the flat belly pressed against her back.

She reveled in the feel. But why was he in her bed?

Her mind, still fuzzy with sleep, couldn’t remember past eating dinner and going to bed.

Had something else happened?

Luke’s breath whispered past her ear. Nerves tightened low in her belly. She wanted him and let herself drift.

He shifted, pulled her closer. She sank into him; let herself relax against that hardness.

Part of her wanted to just lie there and enjoy the sensations pouring through her. The other part wanted to sneak out of bed, rush to the bathroom and pretend this never happened.

His hand drifted over her breasts, cupped them. She let out a contented sigh.

She’d never felt like this before. Not even with David.

Taking his hand, she guided it lower. When he touched her, a white-hot explosion rocked through her.

Turning in his arms, she wrapped them around his neck. She needed this—needed him. His eyes popped open. She smiled at the surprise in their deep, green depths.

He gave her a lazy grin. “Good morning.”

“You too.”

“You were restless last night.”

“I slept better than usual.”